Useful for the Discovery of Antifungal Agents and Therapeutic Encephalitis The research team of Professor Park Yong-seon (Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University) has identified the correlation between pathogenicity and the reaction mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in pathogenic yeast which is known to induce fungal encephalitis in immunocompromised or immunodeficient patients such as HIV-positive patients. The findings, from a collaborative study by Professor Park’s research team (co-first author: Jung Kwang-woo in Master’s and Doctoral Joint Program) and by Professor Kang Hyun-ah (Chung-Ang University)’s team (first author: Dr. Jeon Seon-ah in Post Doctoral Fellowship), have been published on August 11th in an online volume of a high-ranking academic journal in microbiology, PLoS Pathogens (IF 9.079). Their study demonstrates the structural difference between transcriptional regulatory factors of Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) in Cryptococcus and those in human beings, and the fact that the factors of UPR in Cryptococcus carry out a vital role in the tolerance of antifungal agents. Due to increased numbers of transplantation surgery, anti-cancer treatment and the diagnosis of AIDS over the past decades, the number of immunocompromised patients infected by opportunistic infection fungus is increasing worldwide. In aging societies, fungal infection is expanded to a wider population, including those with weak immune system functions. In particular, Cryptococcosis, due to the pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus, is one of the most frequently observed fungal diseases in immunocompromised patients, which can cause encephalitis when found in the central nerve system. The research study has demonstrated through animal testing that disturbance of UPR factors, which are specifically observed in Cryptococcus, results in a complete dissolution of the pathogenicity. Also, the use of antifungal processing in conjunction with UPR factor disturbance has been found to significantly increase the antifungal effect of conventional medication. While the research team has procured a domestic patent for the development of antifungal agents, it is preparing for an international patent as well.